Improvement in breech-loading fire-arms



H. C. BULL.

BREEcH-LOADING'FIRE-ARM. n No. 169,413. Patented Nov-2,1875.

Wnw'ex l 41. 4.0/4

HENRY C. BULL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN BREECH=LOADING FIRE-ARMS.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. E GQAHS, dated November2, 1875; application led January 18, 1875.

To all whom t may concern: Y

Be it known that I, HENRY C. BULL, of New York city, county, and State,have invented a certain Improvement in Brecon-Loading Fire- Arms, ofwhich the following is a specification:

The object of my invention is to so construct the lock of breech-loadingfire-arms that the loading and firing of the same can be accomplished bythe fewest possible movements.

My improvement consists ot' certain novel combinations, with thebreech-block, of the hammer, sear, and trigger, which will behereinafter fully explained and specifically pointedl out in the claims.

In the annexed drawings, Figure lis a side elevation of'the lock andadjacent parts ofthe stock and barrel of my improved fire-arm, showingit at full cock, and with an extracted shell of an exploded cartridge.Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the parts shown in Fig. l,the breech being illustrated as locked and the hammer down.

The same letters of reference are used in both iigures in thedesignation of identical parts.

The mechanism ofthe lock is arranged in a suitable cavity in the stockA, as usual. The breech-block is composed of recessed disk B, the breechproper B1, and the guard B2, all constituting a single piece of metal,pivoted upon the pin b, and capable of being operated to open and closethe rear end ofthe barrel C by the guard. Within the recess of the diskB ofthe breech-block the hammer D is pivoted upon pin b, and anaperture, b', is formed in the breech B1, to allow the point c of thehammer to strike through it upon the cap of the cartridge. The hammer isactuated by the mainspring E, and can be cocked either independently orby opening the breech-block. In either case it is held at halt' or fullcock by the sear F, which is pivoted upon pinfand under the influence ofSear-spring F. The short rearwardly-projecting arm of the sear F extendsover a shoulder, g, of the trigger G, which is also pivoted on pin f andis under the control of the spring G. The concealed upper portion of thetrigger is situated directly behind the disk B of the breech-block, andis concaved to snugly fit against the edge of the latl ter. A notch, b2,is formed in the rear edge of the disk B, into which the upper end oftrigger Gr is thrown by the recoil of its spring when the breech isclosed against the barrel. The trigger thus serves to hold the breechlocked in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 2. In assuming this positionthe shoulder g of the trigger is brought nearly into contact with therear arm of the sear, so that a slight pull on the trigger will operatethe sear, releasing the hammer. The locking-arm of the trigger does nottouch the bottom of the notch in the disk B, so that the trigger can beduly pulled after its said arm has entered the notch. The shellextractoris a bar, H, sliding in ways under the barrel (l, its hooked orturned-up end, which takes hold behind the rim of the cartridge,entering a recess formed in the end of the barrel. lt is drawn out andretracted by a spring, I, fastened to it with one end, and with itsother end to the upper edge of disk B. The extractor is borne up againstthe barrel by the force of the spring, but it has a little vertical playallowed it, sufficient to permit its turned-up end in retracting to passunder and behind the rim of the cartridge. The swing of the breechblockat the point of attachment of spring I is sufficient to cause theextractor to entirely draw the shell of the exploded cartridge out ofthe barrel. In opening or turning back the breechblock, its disk B turnsin contact with the concaved locking-arm of the trigger, and the lattercannot be pulled to release the hammer until the breech-block has beenthrown forward again to close the barrel. The opening motion ofthebreech-block cocks the hammer, but its closing motion has no effect onthe latter,which remains cocked until released by the trigger.

The manipulation of the gun is as follows: The gun is grasped with theright hand by placing the thumb over the stock, the foreinger in frontof the trigger, the second finger behind it, (both within the guard,)and the remaining two lingers under the guard. Now let the gun be at theshoulder, just lired. rIo reload it, it is brought down to the hip, andduring this change of position the second 1inger will push the triggerforward, to draw its locking-arm from out of the notch in disk B, andthe third and fourth iingers will at the same time pull the guard down,whereby the breech-block is turned back, openingl the barrel,extracting` the shell of the exploded cartridge, and cooking the hammer.A new cartridge havin g been inserted, the guard is pulled up, bringingthe breech up against lthe cartridge, while the hammer remains cocked.The

gun is now ready for delivering anothervshot.

It will be seen that the position of the iingers of the righthandnecessary foraproper and rapid manipulation of `the lock is anatural one, and that the movements are few and,

the sear; and to this adaptation and use of the trigger the simplicityof the manipulation of the lock is principally due.

Vh'at I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

The combination of the breech-block, notched asat b2, hammer D, sear F,and trigger G g, all connected and operating substantially as andvforthe purpose speciied.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

Y HENRY G. BULL. Witnesses:

T. B. MosHER,

D. P. HOLLOWAY.

